Hang Glider Hits Power Line In L. Mt. Bethel

Flyer Unhurt

A Toms River, N.J., man escaped injury yesterday afternoon after the hang glider he was flying hit a 4,800-volt power line near Gravel Hill Road in Lower Mount Bethel Township.

"The winds were pretty strong," said Peter Lang, 25, who walked away from the 1:25 p.m. accident. "I probably shouldn't have flown."

Alfred Diomedio, captain of the Lower Mount Bethel ambulance corps, said Lang was bruised by the accident about a mile east of Route 611. Lang refused to go to the hospital.

Metropolitan Edison Co. officials said only a few customers lost electricity when the hang glider hit the wire. Power was restored within 20-30 minutes.

After taking off from Ott's Hill in Richmond, Lang said, he was flying his red, yellow, green and white hang glider in winds ranging from 15-25 mph. Hang gliders usually fly in 5-10 mph winds.

"It was a rowdy day, and when the winds are that strong, you can really soar," Lang said.

But rather than soar, Lang started to lose control of the glider. As he approached a 4,800-volt power line sagging across a corn field, Lang tried to lift the glider. "I thought I could make it," he said.

One end of Lang's glider snagged the power line and the other end caught the ground. The glider's wingspan is about 25 feet, he said.

"The electric line was bowing and I was hung up in the air," said Lang, who works as a technician for Microwave Control Co. of Bricktown, N.J., when he's not flying his hang glider. "I climbed up in my A-frame, picked myself up like I was doing a chin-up, unhooked myself and jumped to the ground."

The drop, he said, was only about five feet. "I didn't get hurt at all." But the glider, which was blown free from the lines, suffered about $300 damage, he said.

"I had a minor crash before, but nothing like this," said Lang, who has been flying hang gliders for about two years. "It scared me." Lang said he plans to trade in his outdated hang glider for a newer, more maneuverable model.